12 Jan, 2021

Last edited: 07 Oct, 2024, 12:46 PM

Launching a new Network Site

When you are ready to launch your own Network Site on the MainCross system, follow some simple steps:

Purchase a domain or use an existing one#

1. Get yourself a shiny domain name if you don't have one already. We allow everyone to use their custom domain for free. Don't have one? You can use a subdomain on maincross.org.
2. If you have a custom domain (eg domain.extension), a subdomain will need to be used as your primary domain pointing to the MainCross instance. This may be www.domain.extension, or community.domain.extension or network.domain.extension, or app.domain.extension etc.
3. Please select your domain and subdomain carefully. Migration may be charged.
4. There are 2 possible setups:
5. You already have an existing website and the MainCross instance is complementary to your existing website: map any subdomain of your choice <subdomain>.domain.extension to the MainCross instance.
6. You don't have an existing website, OR you want to replace your existing website: map the www.domain.extension to the MainCross instance, and further map the apex/naked domain to the www subdomain. The primary URL for your site will be www.domain.extension.

DNS setup for MainCross Starter plan#

If you are on the Starter plan, we only handle mapping a subdomain <subdomain>.domain.extension to the MainCross instance.

1. Setup a CNAME record for your <subdomain>.domain.extension pointing to an address we will provide when you purchase a plan from us. This is the only setting you need to do. Its dead simple.
2. If you are using Cloudflare for DNS management, do NOT turn on the CF proxy (denoted by the orange cloud) for this record.
3. If your subdomain of choice is www, you MUST redirect the apex/naked domain to the www subdomain at your DNS provider, and also generate the SSL certificate accordingly.
4. Without proper naked domain redirect with SSL, your naked domain will not resolve and/or give an SSL error.
5. If you are using CloudFlare or Porkbun DNS services, then you can setup the direct there.
6. If you using another DNS provider, you may use services like NakedSSL.com, or redirect.pizza
7. This is outside MainCross scope and support.
8. Need more details? Here's a long primer.

DNS setup for MainCross Thriving and Booming plans#

If you are on the Thriving or Booming plan, you may configure your Network Site as per 4(a) above. Conversely you may opt for 4(b):

1. Setup a CNAME record for your www.domain.extension pointing to an address we will provide when you purchase a plan from us. This is the primary domain.
2. Unlike subdomains, apex/naked domains don’t support CNAME records. You must configure your apex domain with an ALIAS, ANAME, flattened CNAME, or A record. Different DNS providers support different record types. Depending on what your DNS provider supports, use either the recommended configuration or the fallback option below.
3. Recommended configuration: Add an ALIAS, ANAME, or flattened CNAME record to an address we will provide when you purchase a plan from us.
4. You must use a DNS provider that allows CNAME flattening. We are aware of at least 2 providers: CloudFlare and Porkbun.
5. Fallback: Add an A record to an address we will provide.
6. These are the only settings you need to do. You may also ask us to do the settings for you.

Create the Network Owner (NCO) account#

1. Create an account for yourself on maincross.net using your email ID, so that you have control over this account at all times. It is high recommended not to use social media or Telegram etc signin for this critical account.
2. This account will be the Network Owner account for your network site. It is best if the name of the account handle is similar to the name of your network site or domain. Eg @maincross for maincross.net, @hoten for hoten.life, etc.
3. Correctly select whether its an Organization account or an Individual account. Most of the time, the NCO account would be an Org account (even though you are setting it up an as individual).
4. Setup the display photo or the logo.
5. Apply for a verified account.
6. Add a detailed bio that reflects the account type (Org or Individual)
7. Be sure to use a strong password since this account has control over many aspects of your site!
8. Mandatorily setup Two Factor Auth on this account for additional security.

What happens next?#

1. We'll complete the setup on our side - provision your instance on our servers, generate SSL certificate(s) so that site is always secure (with https)
2. Your site will automatically redirect all insecure calls (using http) to https
3. The Network Owner account that you created is given superuser permission to your instance, and once the network site is up, you may log in using that account and start configuring.
4. At start, your network site will be pretty empty and will show that its under configuration

Initial steps when the Network Site is up#

1. Once you log in with the owner account, you may start configuring the network site. A good place to start is the Essentials configuration followed by Visuals configuration. This will immediately change the look of your site by showing your selected colors and logo etc.
2. The next step is to create at least 1 Topic channel and publish your very first post in that channel! Once you have published the first post, the "under config" blurb will automatically disappear. Read more about configuring channels.
3. The Home destination shows the network feed at start. This can be replaced by creating a featured page and setting that as the home page for the site. The network feed then automatically is available at /network instead of /home.
4. When visitors arrive on your shiny new Network Site, provide information on the network's purpose, & benefits to attract members.